Second Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2020

Home Church: Rev. Dr Linda St. Clair- Celebrant.

Second Sunday in Easter, April 19, 2020

Welcome to the 2nd Sunday of Easter at CCG Home Church! We are continuing on our liturgical worshipping journey together, either self-directed at home or with the video worship experience, for Sunday Morning at 10 am April 19, 2020.  We are committed to staying connected as the community of Christ Church Gabriola!  Karen is on a well deserved week off and I am stepping in, around, through and hopefully on!! Patience is required and I am most grateful to all participants and to our MC (or stage manager in theatre terms) Hilary Plowright for keeping us on/off as we share this time together.

Introduction to this Easter Season

Yes, we have again entered another season and this one will last fifty days until we celebrate Pentecost. For many, this refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who converted in Jerusalem on that festival day after Jesus death and resurrection.  This can be seen as the birth of the Christian Church or Christian movement.  Since our spiritual forebears were of the Jewish faith,  Pentecost related to the fifty days after the Jews left Egypt that Yahweh blessed them and their journey to the promised land.  This connection made perfect sense to them as they started out on a new journey with a promise from the Risen Christ.

Preparing the Space

Let us follow the past suggestions to find a space that is relatively free of distraction and select an object(s) that might assist you in focusing on this worshipping time and helping you become open to the presence of the Divine who is always with us.

Gathering

As the bell rings I invite you to sit quietly, feet on the floor and taking a few deep breaths and as the Psalmist writes, “Be still, and know I am God…Be still, and know I am…Be still and know….Be still….Be”

Greeting  adapted- Iona Abbey Worship Book

Creator of the world, eternal God,

We have come from many places for a little while.

Redeemer of humanity, God-with-us,

We have come with all our differences, seeking common ground.

Spirit of unity, go-between God,

We have come on journeys of our own, to a place where journeys met.

So here with Christ Church Gabriola, through the Internet and in our hearts, let us take time be together. For when paths cross and pilgrims gather in different ways, there is much to share and celebrate.

In your name, Three-In-One-God

Be present here; befriend us here, renew us here.  Amen.

Collect (read the prayer slowly, hearing every word)

Almighty and eternal God,

the strength of those who believe

and the hope of those who doubt,

may we, who have not seen, have faith

this day and forever more. Amen

Hymn:  Now the Green Blade Rises Verses 1 & 2  

1 Now the green blade rises, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

2 In the grave they laid Him, Love by hatred slain,
Thinking that He never would awake again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: 
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

Prayer of Confession  Adapted from The Pattern of our Days (Iona)

God,

We give thanks for the beauty of created things-sand, wind, wave and the wings of the eagle

For the love of land and people and for the promise of renewal.

BUT if we have forgotten those who bear the marks of exile, illness, hunger and homelessness and let them to go on suffering….

Have mercy upon us and ground us in justice and root us in right relationship, giving flesh to our words and worship.

Assurance of Grace

We give thanks for the gift of the breath of the Holy Spirit that comes to guide us and leads us to ways of fulfilling the Peace that Jesus the Christ offers all those who follow in his pathways and seek to serve all in his name.  Amen.

Sharing the Peace of Christ 

Let us strengthen our sense of community by reaching out to one another through this space between us with the exchange of Peace this Second Sunday of Easter!

            A-M:  The Peace of Christ be with you!

            N-Z:   And also with you!

Hymn:  Now the Green Blade Rises  Verses 3 & 4

3 Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
he that for three days in the grave had lain;
raised from the dead my living Lord is seen:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

4 When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
your touch can call us back to life again,
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: 
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

Scripture Reading

Psalm 16                                                                

Our earthly life is surrounded by the presence of God and here we read how the psalmist find this transformative.

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I have said to God, “You are my God;

from alone comes all  my prosperity.”

            All my delight is in the faithful who dwell in the land,

            and in those who excel in virtue.

But as for those who run after other gods,

their troubles shall be multiplied.

            Libations of blood I will not offer to those gods,

            nor will I take their names upon my lips.

                        Protect me, God: I trust in you.

You, God, are my allotted portion and my cup;

            you yourself have cast my lot.

My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;

            indeed I have noble heritage.

I will thank you, God, for giving me counsel;

            at night also you teach my heart.

I keep you always before me,

            you are on my right hand, therefore I shall not fall.

                        Protect me, God: I trust in you.

 

So my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;

for my body shall also rest in safety.

            For you will not surrender me to the Grave,

            nor suffer your beloved to see the Abyss.

You will show me the path of life.

            In your presence in fullness of joy;

            and from your right hand flow delights for evermore.

                        Protect me, God: I trust in you.

Gospel Reading

God be with you

And also with you

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

John 20: 19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

This is the Gospel of Christ

Praise be to Jesus Christ.

Reflection:  Pax, Peace, Shalom   ( sermon attached)                                    

Hymn:  O God our Help in Ages Past  Verses 1-3

1 O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home:

2 under the shadow of thy throne
thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defence is sure

3 Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received its frame,
from everlasting thou art God,
to endless years the same.

Apostle’s Creed:  Let us join with Christians around the world in affirming our faith:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of the People From Sandy Brydges ( see attached)

 The Lord’s Prayer

 God in your mercy

 Hear our prayer.   

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

Offering  In this time that is set apart from what we are used to, we continue to be the body of Christ, gather as the body of Christ, and continue to do the work of the church. Contributions of time, talent and treasures are very much appreciated during this time as we support each other and our community along the way. For ways to offer time and talent, you can contact me during the week. Information on how to give financially to the church, see the weekly e-news. Thank you for all your support to the community!

Let us pray, Accept all we offer you this day, guide our hands and our hearts so that we may be a blessing in the service of others in ways that may be best for all.

Words of Faith from Pattern of our Days (Iona)

We cannot tell

how much the sound of silence,

creation’s beauty, gloriously aflame;

we cannot tell

how much the sight of starlit heavens

moves us to prayer,

to praise creation’s Maker,

and our own.

We cannot tell

how much the son of Mary

the man of Nazareth,

the son of God upon a tree;

we cannot tell

how much the man of sorrows

moves us to prayer,

to praise the One

who gives our lives

meaning and a goal.

We cannot tell

how much the Spirit’s comfort

how much the wind of freedom

means to us.

We cannot tell—

for words cannot contain

the love beyond all loves,

the truth

that in the end

there is

only

God.

Hymn: O God Our Help in Ages Past Verses 4-6

4 A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.

5 Time like an ever-rolling stream
soon bears us all away;
we fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.

6 O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while troubles last,
and our eternal home.

Blessing    (St. Hilda)

(If you are with another person, you are invited to bless each other taking every other line from this traditional Irish blessing.)

One:    Have Peace with each other, as children of one Mother

            Let each defer to the other and may your hearts be one.

First name A-M

            Have peace all around you, sweet love of each surround you

            and may no harm confront you or break peace within.

First name N-Z

            Have peace with God your maker, in Jesus be partaker

            and Spirit consecrator, God in three in one, grant peace.

All:      The Peace of God possess you, the love of God caress you,

            the grace of heaven bless you with Peace everlasting.

Let us go forth now in peace, rejoicing the power of the Spirit!

All:      Thanks be to God!  Alleluia, Alleluia!

Resources

Travelling the Road of Faith, ed. Jacynth Hamill, Corrymeela Community

The Pattern of Our Days, ed. Kathy Galloway, Iona Community

Iona Abbey Worship Book, Iona Community.